-Darren, a Brooklyn boy.
-Yeah, I'm a beginner at this.
I've never done a talk show.
-This is the first talk show? Oh, I'm so happy.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Welcome! Welcome, welcome!
I'm so happy to have you here. -Thank you.
-I have a thousand questions for you, but we'll get right to it.
A director always in your vision, growing up?
-I didn't know what a director was growing up in Brooklyn.
It was, like, no clue. It was a different time.
-When did you get the bug or go like,
"Hey, this might be something that I'm good at"?
-I actually went to King's Plaza in Brooklyn,
for any Brooklyn people,
and the film I wanted to see was sold out.
And there was, like, another film with a kind of goofy guy
with a Brooklyn hat, and I walked into Spike Lee's
"She's Gotta Have It."
And it was just like, I had never seen anything like that.
So it's sort of like, "Oh, someone from Brooklyn
can do something in this world."
And it kind of opened my eyes. -Yeah.
And then you go, "Okay, so I'm going to do that."
And then you go -- What happens next?
-Well, I sort of followed a path back then.
There weren't, like, film schools everywhere.
So I kind of had to figure it out.
And eventually I was like,
"What is the cheapest thing I can make?"
I raised money going out to everyone I knew,
asking for 100 bucks each with the promise
if the film made money, they'd get 150 bucks back.
That was the deal.
-That's what a Brooklyn kid does.
"Give me 100 bucks, I'll give you 150."
-Early crowdfunding. I should have done Kickstarter.
-Pre-Kickstarter, yeah. And that movie was --
-"Pi." -Yeah, not too shabby.
-Which it's actually the 25th anniversary this year,
and we're actually scanning it for IMAX,
and we're going to release it on Pi Day, March 14th,
for the world to see it again. -Oh, my God.
[ Cheers and applause ] Not too shabby.
-Yeah, not too shabby. -Not too shabby.
-I also just saw you're on the short list --
You have a documentary film called "The Territory."
You're on the short list to be nominated for an Oscar.
So that's good news. Congratulations.
Good luck on that. What is "The Territory" about?
-"Territory" is an amazing documentary.
Probably one of the most important things
I've ever been lucky to be near.
And it documents kind of the front lines of the war
happening in the Amazon between the indigenous people
and people that are invading and taking their lands.
It's on Disney+. It's really badass.
-Alright, congratulations. That's fantastic.
[ Cheers and applause ] So, that's happening.
You do that. And then you have "The Whale."
-Yeah. -Which you directed.
Brendan Fraser. He's unbelievable in this.
Sadie Sink. -Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
-Sadie Sink is unbelievable as well.
When did you hear about this idea?
When did you go, "I want to make this"?
And how long did it take you?
-Well, it was originally a play that I saw 10 years ago,
off-Broadway theater,
Playwrights Horizons here in New York.
And I was just so deeply moved by it.
It was characters that I had never met before.
I shouldn't be able to relate to them, but by the end,
I was like -- I felt so deeply,
and I was crying with all these strangers in the audience.
And I was like, "It would be really interesting
to bring that to the theater" 'cause people don't cry
anymore in movies, you know.
That used to be a thing back in the day, the tear-jerker.
-That was my first movie, I think, was "The Champ."
-"The Champ" with Ricky Schroder.
There you go, exactly. -Cried my eyes out.
-People used to brag about crying in theaters.
-So you're bringing the cry back?
-#CryTogether. -#CryTogether.
You're bringing it back. Why not? Family get-together.
Have a good cry. [ Cheers and applause ]
-But it is inspirational and hopeful.
I mean, it leaves you with --
The character has so much life and so much hope for humanity.
-Also, Brendan is a perfect choice because he's funny.
He knows how to deliver a joke and land a joke.
Did you know that Brendan was going to be the main character?
-Well, the reason it took 10 years was
I couldn't figure out how to cast it.
And then I stumbled on a trailer of a low-budget Brazilian movie,
and Brendan had a small role in it and he's amazing.
To be honest though, I had never really seen any of his films.
I hadn't seen "George of the Jungle" or "Encino Man."
I had seen "The Mummy" but not that much.
But there was something that, like, a light bulb went off.
And I was like, "Let's roll the dice on it."
-And did you see a scene in your head?
Did you go, "I think he's going to do this scene pretty --"
-It wasn't that. It was just really, um...
You know, I think once a movie star, always a movie star,
and there was a time when people just loved him.
-Yeah. -But I had no idea about this
Brenaissance and that people would be going crazy over him.
-Yeah, Brenaissance, exactly.
He got a 10-minute standing ovation.
-Yeah, yeah. -After the premiere.
I mean, just that clip went viral because he stood up
and he was losing it.
This is not even in the movie.
He's crying after the movie. He's crying.
I'm crying watching him.
I think you got a little emotional.
-Yeah, yeah, it was very -- I've had a few films
at the Venice Film Festival and this one was very different.
It was really unique because the love for him was great.
And it's just been so nice to see people
loving what he's doing in this movie
and so excited that he's back. -And rooting for him
and rooting for the movie, and it pays off.
How do we set up "The Whale" for anyone?
-It's a hard one for me. I hate doing this thing.
But it's like, um... -I can try to help you.
-Please.
[ Laughter ]
-It is a, uh... I'd say it's kind of like
a broken family almost. -Yeah.
-And he is a teacher, and he's trying to reconnect
with his daughter, who he hasn't seen in a while,
and teenage girls, and the whole thing is tough,
and it's a lot of emotion that comes out
and he's trying to say, "Hey, I made mistakes but I love you."
And they're trying to communicate with each other.
-That's wonderful. -Is that okay?
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-My God, that was a lot of pressure.
[ Cheers and applause ]
It's great and it pays off and it's funny as well.
You'll get some cries in there
but you'll get some laughs as well.
I want to show everyone a clip. Here's Brendan Fraser in a scene
from Darren Aronofsky's "The Whale." Take a look.
-I need to know that she's going to have a decent life
where she cares about people and other people care about her
and she's going to be okay.
-I need to go. -Mary, she doesn't...
-I have to go. -...have anyone else.
I need to know that I have done one thing right with my life!
-Oof.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Darren Aronofsky, everyone.
"The Whale" is in theaters now.
Emma Myers joins us after the break. Stick around, everybody.